


I Will Be Right Here

by NoirSongbird



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo as Prince of Alderaan, Coronation Balls, F/M, Inspired by Frozen (2013), M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 00:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6930985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirSongbird/pseuds/NoirSongbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crown Prince Ben Organa of Alderaan has been keeping his Force abilities secret for most of his life, ever since an accident that put his beloved sister Rey in a temporary coma. He has also hid himself away from the world, refusing to interact with anyone for fear of doing them harm. But when his mother, Queen Leia Organa, abdicates the throne to help the newborn Resistance, Ben has to step up and take his birthright. Things go horrifically sideways at his coronation ball, and with his powers revealed in the worst possible way, Ben flees into the black, and Rey and her new friends Poe and Finn have to chase after him and bring him home before everything falls apart. Meanwhile, General Hux, representative of the mysterious First Order, is after Ben for his own reasons - reasons that may have to do with the struggle with the Dark Side Ben has endured for his entire life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Frozen Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So this started with a [tumblr post](http://songstressfox.tumblr.com/post/143657978521/star-wars-frozen-inspired-au-ben-and-rey-are), and then the lovely otp-kylux made a [collage](http://otp-kylux.tumblr.com/post/144319755876/i-will-be-right-here-frozen-star-wars) and at that point I knew I HAD to write this. So here we are, please enjoy!

_Peace in the Galaxy!_

_Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Jedi, and especially to that of Anakin Skywalker, who discovered the evil Chancellor Palpatine’s plan to seize galactic power from the Senate, the Sith have been rooted out and the Republic continues on._

_Tragically, Skywalker and his wife, beloved Senator Padme Amidala, were both killed in their attempt to stop Palpatine. The twins were adopted by Breha and Bail Organa, King and Queen of Alderaan, dear friends of their deceased parents. Now, thirty years after Anakin and Padme’s noble sacrifice, Luke Skywalker is a Master of the Jedi Order, and his sister, Leia, rules Alderaan as Queen with her husband Han Solo._

_Leia’s children, Prince Ben and Princess Rey, are as close as siblings can be, but that may soon change…_

 

* * *

 

“Do the magic, Ben!” Rey giggled, staring up at her brother with wide, innocent eyes. At seven years old, _everything_ was magical to Rey, and her older brother let out a tiny, imperious huff.

“It’s not _magic,_ Rey,” he said, with all the gravity a ten-year-old could manage, “it’s _the Force,_ I’m gonna be a Jedi like Uncle Luke,” he looked infinitely pleased with himself, but Rey made a pouting face, and Ben sighed very dramatically and knelt, pressing a hand into the snow. It was deep in Alderaan’s winter, and there was a thick layer of snow in the palace courtyard.

With a push, the snow flew up, forming a hill that Rey eagerly ran up, rolling around in it. Ben pushed it higher and higher, and Rey giggled with delight, and then flung herself off, and Ben laughed loudly, bringing his hands around and piling up a shorter hill that Rey landed on. She was off again, and he kept up, making soft piles of snow for her to land in. Her delighted laughter was loud enough to draw the attention of their parents, and Han and Leia hovered in the doorway, smiling indulgently at each other.

And then Rey took a very dramatic leap, towards a part of the courtyard that was under eaves and less covered in snow.

_Let her fall,_ something said, deep inside Ben, a voice that was not his own and was no one he knew but that he _desperately_ wanted to listen to, even though he wasn’t sure why. _Let her fall, so she cannot challenge your power._

Ben almost listened, and then his brain caught up with the rest of him a he realized what letting her fall would mean.

It was too late to move the snow, so he had only one option left.

“Rey!” He flung out with the Force directly, trying to catch her - and there was a moment of resistance, and power rippled out from Ben and Rey both, sending them flying in opposite directions, landing in the snow.

Ben got up almost immediately, and Leia ran to him, scooping him up before he could run to Rey. Ben struggled against his mother’s grip, as Han scooped up Rey and carried her over. She was still, unconscious.

“Rey!” Ben sobbed, struggling to get to his sister.

“Ben, shh,” Leia soothed, but she was looking at Han with something akin to fear. She was fairly certain they had just witnessed some kind of Force backlash, and while she had some sensitivity, it wasn’t nearly as much as her brother’s, so she couldn’t imagine what might have happened to her daughter. “We’ll get Uncle Luke, he’ll know what to do.”

Ben didn’t look comforted.

 

* * *

 

Luke arrived the next day, and went straight to Rey’s room. Ben sat by her bed, where he had been since the accident, crying on and off.

“Uncle Luke, I didn’t mean to hurt her, I swear,” Ben said, eyes wide and pleading.

“I know,” Luke said, “but she was still hurt, and we have to fix it. Your mother told me what happened, but I’d like to hear it from you, so I know.”

Ben nodded and described what they had been doing, how he panicked when he thought she might hurt herself, how all he had wanted was to protect his baby sister. Luke nodded, looking sympathetic.

Han and Leia came in, then, and Han looked from his daughter to his brother-in-law, clearly distressed.

“What do you think, kid? Is she gonna be okay?” He asked, a little desperately.

“She’ll be fine, Han,” Luke replied soothingly. “She’s latently Force-sensitive, and so the Force reacted to protect her on its own at the same time Ben tried to catch her - it created a backlash interaction that hit Rey a little harder, is all.” Ben looked guilty, staring at his sister. “The good news is, I can fix it. The bad news is, to fix it and keep it from happening again, I’m going to have to seal off her Force abilities. And, probably, make her forget Ben has them too.”

“How will that help?” Leia asked, clearly puzzled.

“It will release the Force’s grip on her mind, and allow her to wake up.” Luke said. He looked between his sister and brother-in-law. “This wasn’t Ben’s fault, these things happen, sometimes. The Force works in ways none of us can comprehend.”

“But I still hurt her,” Ben sniffed. He thought of the voice in his head, the one that had urged him to let his baby sister come to harm, and he realized, even at only ten, that he was afraid. “It’s because of me that this happened - Uncle Luke, can I come back with you to the temple? Please? So I can learn to control it better?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Leia said, frowning. “Luke, he can’t leave, he’s the Crown Prince.”

“I think it would be for the best,” Like said, and then he turned his focus to Rey entirely.

Slowly, he turned her sleep from Force coma to proper rest.

By the time she woke up, her uncle was gone, and her brother with him.

 

* * *

 

Ben’s Jedi training was isolated, primarily conducted by Luke himself and not the other Masters or Knights, and kept secret at Leia's request.

Luke encouraged him to rein in his feelings and rein in his power, and Ben took to it with terrifying enthusiasm, pulling himself tighter in and closing off further and further from the people around him.

Always, there was the dark voice in his head, urging him to give into his emotions, to roil in his anger, to Fall.

Every night for six years, as he trained and struggled, Ben dreamed of darkness. He dreamed of blood and death and terrors, all conducted at his hand, and he knew the dreams to be visions, a future he was stumbling towards blindly.

Six years into his training as a Jedi, Ben left his lightsaber on Luke’s bedside table and flew home.

He was too dangerous to be allowed to use the Force, he knew it. Too powerful, with too much Dark lurking. He was a danger to everyone around him no matter what, but becoming stronger in the Force would into make it worse, make him even more of a ticking time bomb. The voice in his head had never entirely gone away, but the further he got from the temple, the more he resolved to no longer pursue his power, the quieter it got, until it went silent.

And so Ben Organa, Crown Prince of Alderaan, returned to the palace, the first time he had been home since he was ten and the first time his family had seen him, and shut the door to his room, and refused to leave.

At first, Rey tried everything she knew to get him out. She banged on his door every day, calling out for him, with no response. She tried slipping in when he had meals delivered, only to be sent away with a glare and sometimes a gentle shove out the door.

It was like living with a ghost, if you asked Rey, except at least a ghost might have interacted with her a little more.

 

* * *

 

Three years after Ben’s return from his training, Han Solo did as Han Solo did best, and took the _Millennium Falcon_ and his best friend Chewbacca and disappeared into the black.

 

* * *

 

A year after her husband left, Leia Organa pushed past the Force wall Ben used to keep people from opening his door and sat her son down.

“Ben,” Leia said, taking one of his big hands in both of her small ones, “I know you aren’t exactly a people person,” Ben frowned.

“Not by choice,” he said, staring down.

“By choice or not,” Leia continued, “but I’m going to need you to step up. Take the role you were born for.” Ben’s head jerked up, eyes widening.

“Mom!” His voice came out panicked. “Are you sick? Are you --” Leia shook her head, warding off the questions.

“The Republic needs me. The...they’re calling it the Resistance, the only people who are willing to fight those terrible groups from the Outer Rim and the Unknown Regions, the ones who want to finish what Palpatine started, they need me, Ben.” She squeezed his hand. “Just like the Republic needed your grandfather, and like it needed your brother and I. And Alderaan needs you. The Republic won't fight, they remember the Clone Wars too well - they've even welcomed some of these people into the Senate. But someone has to fight them, and it's going to have to be me.”

Ben shook his head, eyes wide with panic.

“Mom, I _can’t,”_ he said, insistently, “I’m too dangerous, I’ll _hurt people,_ I can’t be _King.”_

“Yes, you can, Ben,” Leia said gently. “You haven’t hurt anyone in ten years, and Luke said you did very well in your training. You’re good and kind, and better than you think you are. You’ll make an excellent King, after I abdicate.”

Ben swallowed and stared back at the floor.

“When is the coronation?” He asked. “And when are you leaving?”

“I’m leaving next month,” Leia said. “Your coronation will be on your twenty-first birthday. Take care of Rey until then, alright?” Ben nodded.

“Yeah, Mom. Alright.”


	2. For the First Time in Forever

The morning of the coronation dawned bright and sunny, and Rey practically flung herself out of bed as soon as sunlight crossed her face.

Ever since Leia had left, the castle - in Rey’s opinion - had become dark and dreary and lonely.

Just the way her brother liked it, she suspected. Rey had no idea  _ why  _ he seemed to hate the whole galaxy and especially hate everyone in it, though she had her private theories (mostly boiling down to “he’s an asshole”, if she were pressed to give them) but in her opinion it was absolutely, utterly unfair for him to force his blatant desire for isolation on her. She was practically vibrating when her maid came to help her dress and do her hair, and when she was let out, she flew down the halls, stopping to hug every single servant she ran across.  There was only a skeleton staff, a decision her parents had made when Ben disappeared, and so she knew every single one by name.

Sunlight streamed through the palace, and Rey flung herself out a window and onto one of the lower roofs, pulling herself up higher so she could watch the starships on their landing approaches to the spaceport. The whole palace, the whole  _ city  _ of Aldera was a marvel, carved into the mountains, meant to honor the environment of the planet.

“I never realized there were this many people in the whole galaxy,” she said, softly, and she smiled, entirely fondly. “I wonder if there’s someone special, just for me, on one of those ships?”

It wasn’t hard to imagine, some foreign prince sweeping into the ball and scooping her up and stealing away her heart. Rey had plenty of time for romantic fantasizing and not much else to do - she’d read most every book in the library twice, and there was only so much time she could spend pretending to be a Jedi or banging on Ben’s door and begging him to  _ say something, come outside, acknowledge the world beyond your room, Ben, please,  _ so letting herself daydream about handsome knights and princes and a love story as full and amazing as her parents’ or her grandparents’ was...well, it was easy.

(Even if her parents’ hadn’t had the, well,  _ best  _ ending, she was sure her father would come back. He always came back, even if sometimes it took him a little longer.)

She swung back inside, and started heading for the front gates. Ben would be calling to open them soon, she wa sure, and she wanted to experience as much of Aldera as possible before she was called back for the ceremony.

 

* * *

 

Ben paced the length of his room, fiddling nervously with the cloak clasp of his outfit. He was in white and blue and silver, a picture of Alderaanian elegance - white undershirt, royal blue vest with silver embroidery, blue pants, and a sweeping white cloak with a silver clasp. His hair was carefully coiffed, tamed far better than he ever bothered with, the light curls graceful instead of messy. He knew he would have every enye in the room on him, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt totally out of control of his emotions. Knicknacks on his dresser were vibrating, and his curtains were fluttering wildly, all caused by the Force and his agitated emotional state.

“Calm  _ down, _ ” he told himself, bitterly, “conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them see - if they see, if they know, it will be all over.” If people discovered his Force powers, he would have no choice, he would  _ have  _ to return to Jedi training, and then…

And then it would be darkness and death and destruction, and it would be all his fault, because he couldn’t  _ get a damn handle on his feelings. _

He glanced at the mirror, and there was a ring of amber-gold around his eyes. Ben swallowed down his horror. Whenever his powers - and his feelings - got too far out of his control, that started to happen. Luke told him once, quietly, that it was a sign he was getting too close to the Dark Side. Ben knew he was constantly dancing on that line, which was the primary reason he was so very dangerous. If he ever Fell, it would be a disaster - he’d once heard Luke tell one of the other Masters he had the potential to be a Sith more powerful than even Sidious, who had killed half the Jedi Council before Anakin and Padmé intervened.

The caveat, of course, was that he could be a Jedi as powerful as any of the great Masters of old, but Ben sincerely doubted that was what was going to happen. He didn’t have the control necessary to be a Jedi. 

“Conceal, don’t feel,” he said, and then, under his breath, “there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no death, there is the Force.” Murmuring the Jedi Code, and focusing on it, began to help him pull his wildly wayward emotions under control. The objects stopped vibrating, and the curtains stilled, and when he looekd in the mirror his eyes were back to normal, and Ben looked something like hopeful for the first time that day. 

It was going to be okay. He would get through this coronation, and the ball afterwards, and then he would be able to tuck himself back into isolation and let the court keep running the planet, and it would be  _ fine.  _ Maybe Rey would leave, go chasing the adventure she deserved, and then she would be far away and safe from him. It wasn’t fair that she had gotten swept up in all this, that his inability to control the Force had resulted in  _ her  _ practically being a prisoner in the palace. It was fine for him, his isolation was the price he paid for the monster he would surely become if he was allowed to, but Rey had never done anything wrong, just had the misfortune to be his sister.

He stepped outside his room, and tapped one of the servants on the shoulder. She looked startled to see him, but her face lit into a smile.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “may I help you?”

“Pass a message to the guards. It’s time to open the gates,” he said. She nodded, and darted off.

“Conceal, don’t feel,” Ben murmured to himself one last time, and then he straightened and strode towards the palace gates.

 

* * *

 

Stepping off his transport, General Hux of the First Order let his eyes drift over the city of Aldera. It was carved into the mountainside, a marvel of blending nature and engineering, and the castle that overlooked it was particularly elegant.

He thought of Starkiller Base, of the trench dug in the planet, of ripping its core out to be replaced with something powerful and artificial. It was, in so many ways, the opposite of Alderaan and its careful, elegant, almost natural architecture.

“The city certainly is something,” Captain Phasma said from his left, out of her usual chrome armor and instead in elegant dress whites matching his own. 

“It  _ is  _ too bad we won’t get to see much of it,” Hux acknowledged. “But we have a very specific mission.” Phasma nodded sharply. Mission first. Everything else was secondary.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the gates opened, Rey practically flew out of them, throwing herself into the colorful, swirling excitement of the Coronation Day crowds. By the time she was halfway through she had managed to get flowers and ribbons twisted into her already-elaborate hairstyle, and then a full on flower crown. Her full dress, in the blue and silver and white of Alderaan, swished around her as she skipped, and for once she was glad she hadn’t left the palace in nearly a decade - no one knew she was Princess Rey, and there was no one stopping her to talk or...anything. She spun to wave goodbye to the young woman who had placed the flower crown on her head, backing up, and ran smack into  _ someone.  _

She yelped, flailed a little, and spun back around, and there were strong hands on her shoulder, steadying her. 

“Hey, hey, you alright?” He asked, and Rey had to take a moment to breathe. He was  _ gorgeous,  _ with the darker skintone common on large parts of Alderaan, warm brown eyes, and dark hair that curled lightly, kept cut short. His hair looked incredibly soft, and for a moment Rey’s brain went down the terrible tangent of wanting to  _ touch,  _ to run her fingers through it, because  _ wow.  _

At his feet, a white and orange BB unit beeped a cheery greeting to Rey in Binary, which did a fair job of shaking her out of her thoughts, and she smiled down at it.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” she said, and she dusted herself off, turning her smile in his direction. He smiled back, and took his hands off her shoulders once he was sure she was steady. “Sorry about that, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s fine,” he waved off her apology, “I’ve never seen anything like this either, our parties on Yavin Four aren’t nearly this wild. Hi. I’m Poe. Poe Dameron. And this is BB-8.” The droid beeped brightly.

“Poe Dameron, the Resistance pilot?” Rey asked. She’d heard his name, from her mother, who always sounded thoroughly proud of him.

“The same,” he said, and he looked a little sheepish. “Best pilot in the Resistance, they say.”

“That’s something,” Rey said, and then she curtsied just a little. “I’m Princess Rey, of Alderaan.”

“Princess?” Poe looked a little startled, and then he bowed, deeply. “Wow, I’d like to apologize for running right into the Princess of Alderaan, then.” Rey shook her head, as BB-8 beeped an angry protest.

“It was just a bump, and it was my fault,” she said, insistently. “And besides, I’m not the one being crowned today, that’s my older brother.” In the distance, there was a loud chiming, and Rey groaned. “Speaking of the coronation,” she said.

“Go, Princess. I’ll see you at the ball?” It came out as a question, but something told Rey it really wasn’t.

“I’ll see you there,” she promised.

 

* * *

 

The official coronation was a surprisingly quiet affair, with just the representatives of the High Houses of Alderaan and a small selection of the visiting dignitaries, held in a private space to keep out the paparazzi. The Republic press was spinning, wildly excited for the first public appearance of Ben Organa, son and grandson of Republic heroes, in over a decade. Ben glanced over to see Rey waving to a man in Republic dress blues, and he had to suppress a smile. It was sweet, to see her so taken with someone, even if they’d only just met. 

Rey was smart and sensible, she would be able to handle herself.

All other eyes were on him, and he reached out tentatively with the Force, brushing over the surface thoughts of the people present. Many of them were thinking, in varying shades of fondness, of how he and Rey had grown, how Mature and Adult they looked; some were curious about why he had disappeared; one mind was bright and focused and thinking  _ Maker he’s so much more gorgeous than I’d even considered,  _ and he turned, and met a pair of fierce blue eyes. He recognized the face they belonged to - that of General Hux of the First Order, the youngest man to have received the title, only a few years older than Ben himself. He was just as handsome as he looked in the propaganda holos - maybe even moreso, in person, where Ben could really see the fire in his eyes. Ben had wanted the Order representatives at this smaller ceremony so he could perhaps attempt to get a read in them, maybe send his mother some useful intel, but it seemed military operations were  _ not _ currently on the General’s mind.

It was an active effort for Ben not to flush.

There was a cough from his uncle, who was presiding over the ceremony - a representative of the Jedi Order overseeing the transfer of power on a major Republic ally planet - and Ben turned back, making his way a little quicker to the raised dais.

Solemnly, Luke offered him the scepter of office, and Ben took it - and was not at all prepared for how it  _ hummed _ in the Force. He turned, and raised the scepter, and suddenly his focus was narrowed to keeping the Force under control, holding it within him rather than letting it spill out and fill the room like it wanted to. He barely heard what Luke was saying, an ancient affirmation that had been passed down for generations but that had no meaning for Ben in that tense, terrible moment. He distantly heard Luke announce him as  _ King Ben Anakin Bail Organa of Alderaan,  _ and he spun, placing the scepter back on its pillow and fixing Luke with a slightly betrayed look as he bowed to the Jedi Master.

Luke placed a graceful silver circlet on his head, and he turned, and the crowd chanted his name, and he felt, maybe, that this might not end as horribly as he had feared.

 

* * *

The coronation ball was perhaps the worst part of the whole event, as far as Ben was concerned, but by simple observation he could tell the same was  _ not  _ true of his sister, who was taking in the wide array of people with something definitely close to excitement, even as she stood next to him in front of the throne chairs that would usually be occupied by the royal couple. 

“Hey,” Ben said, quietly, giving Rey a quick smile. She looked startled, turning to look at him - which was fair, he supposed.

“Uh, hey,” she said, and she narrowed her eyes briefly like she expected something else. Ben tried not to be hurt, and failed.

“You look good,” he said, and she looked a little surprised. “The colors. Look good on you.” He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms, sinking into himself a little. At least he tried, he could say he tried, that was enough, it was too little too late anyway --

“You look good too,” Rey said. It was Ben’s turn to be startled.

“Oh, thanks,” he fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket, suddenly feeling very nervous. 

“How long do we have to just  _ stand  _ here?” Rey asked, surveying the party. “I’d like to try some of the food before it all disappears, some of our guests are acting like they’ve never eaten before.” That startled a laugh out of Ben, because he glanced over at the tables laid out with all sorts of foods and there were definitely plenty of people crowding it.

“I’m not sure,” Ben said, “hopefully not long. I’d hate to miss out on what the chefs worked so hard on,” and also he was absolutely desperate to stop feeling like every eye in the room was on him. Maybe he would be able to disappear into the crowd.

Or not.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness,” a carefully accented voice addressed them. Ben had to struggle not to flush, again, because it was Hux, bowing gracefully. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I was wondering if I might get the opportunity to have a dance with the new King?”

Ben recognized the sparkle of mischief in Rey’s eyes as she nudged him forward. 

“He’d be delighted,” she said.

“I would,” Ben acknowledged, and then he stepped off the dais and took the General’s offered hand. The first dance was a waltz, and the General kept up admirably; it was obvious he’d had some practice. “I didn’t realize ballroom dancing was a component of First Order officer’s training,” Ben said, keeping his voice as mild as possible. 

“Our Academy is as thorough as the Republic’s,” Hux said, “despite being in the Outer Rim.” Ben hummed lightly, spinning Hux around gracefully. Up close, he really  _ was _ sort of devastatingly handsome, only an inch or two shorter than Ben himself, and with sharp, clever eyes.

He was scheming something, but then, so were half the Republic representatives.

“I was surprised the General chose to make an appearance at this little soirée,” Ben continued, “I would assume that like our Republic Generals, you would have other things to do, more important than witnessing a mostly ceremonial event. Especially with a mission like bringing order to the Outer Rim; the Republic never managed  _ that, _ ” draw him out, get him to talk politics, and maybe, just maybe, Ben might learn something useful.

“I have extremely competent commanders, Your Majesty, and you underestimate Alderaan’s importance,” Hux said. “We hope to have trading relationships with the Republic once we’re more established - resources in the Outer Rim are few and far between, and in many cases have been thoroughly plundered by crime lords and Separatists and sometimes even the Republic.” He looked faintly bitter. “While we are proud of our current ability to operate self-sufficiently, that will not be possible once we’re maintaining a larger civilian population, and I certainly don’t intend to starve our civilians to fuel our military.” 

“So you’re hoping that if  _ I  _ decide you aren’t a threat - or maybe just decide I like  _ you _ \- I’ll speak on your behalf to the Senate?” Ben laughed a little, when Hux’s cheeks colored.

“That was the general idea, yes,” he looked faintly embarrassed, and Ben let his Force powers just a little off the leash to pick at the General’s barest surface thoughts. They seemed mostly in line with what he was saying - he was thinking about trade routes, supplies, and - 

And he was thinking about  _ Ben,  _ how Ben’s hand felt in his and how  _ solid  _ it was at his waist, and how he could dance like this forever, and -

Ben retreated, feeling deeply guilty for plundering around in his head, especially when the man had no idea he was capable of it. The thoughts about trade, fine, but Ben had no idea what to do with genuine interest, and so he decided deflecting was a brilliant idea.

“It’s not a  _ bad plan,”  _ he said, “though relying on catching the attention of a notorious recluse is a bit of a gambit.” 

“At worst, I might have tried your sister - she’s inheriting the Senatorial position, correct?” Hux looked amused, now, which was good.

“You did your homework, General, I’m impressed,” Ben risked actual teasing, now, and Hux just huffed. 

“Of course I did.” He looked almost offended, and Ben wanted to laugh, but didn’t.

The waltz stopped, and the next song opened with the straining of a solo violin. Ben found himself grinning broadly, suddenly much more interested in dancing. 

“Tell me, General,” he said, “does the Academy teach the  _ tango?” _ Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dameron bowing to his sister and pulling her onto the floor. Good.

“I learned before coming here,” Hux replied, “it seemed rather important.”

“Good,” Ben said, leading Hux back into the floor. “I would hate to have you miss out on an Alderaanian tradition.” Hux looked vaguely nervous, but by the time they were back in the floor and he could watch the other dancers, he seemed to lose the nerves and, Ben suspected, he was now seeing the ferocity that had made the man a General at 25 - though channeled in a very different direction than war. 

He let Ben take the lead, and fell in eagerly, all intense stares and coy grins, and Ben might have believed the General really did intend to flirt with him. He pressed closer than was strictly necessary even for a dance like the tango that had them chest to chest for a large portion, and it was clear he  _ had  _ practiced, because he had the clever footwork of the tango down perfectly. 

In a lot of places Ben’s size might have made him large as awkward, but dance wasn’t that different from combat - and if there was one place he had excelled in his Jedi days, it was in combat. He found the same easy grace spinning Hux around the floor, and this time when he realized that he was the center of attention, he reveled in it.

Well, not  _ just _ him and Hux. Poe and Rey were attracting their own stares, and the dance floor was mostly empty, a wide circle around the King, the General, the Princess, and the pilot. Poe was talented and confident, and Rey was eager, and even though her dress was more suited to a waltz than a tango, she was  _ absolutely  _ making it work.

“I amend my statement,” Hux said, voice low, “I think I was a bit too late to charm your sister.” Ben almost laughed, but shoved it down rather than ruin the moment. He spun Hux around, then pulled him close by the waist, so the General’s back was against his chest. 

“That’s alright, General,” he said, directly in Hux’s ear, voice low, “you’ve charmed me quite thoroughly.”

When he spun Hux to pull him back around, the General was blushing practically to the tips of his ears. Ben patted himself on the back, mentally. He  _ could _ still socialize, could even do  _ well  _ with people, despite his self-imposed isolation, as long as he had something other than the Force to focus on - and dancing an intense, sensuous tango with Hux was definitely taking up his focus.

As the song drew to a close, he dipped Hux low, grinning the whole time, and glanced over to see Poe doing the same to his sister. 

Sometimes, Ben supposed, it was nice to be the center of attention.

 

* * *

The longer the party went on, the more Ben found himself actually enjoying it. Maybe it was Hux - and Phasma, his companion, an absolutely delightful woman who had some of the  _ best  _ war stories Ben had yet heard - maybe it was the freely-flowing liquor, maybe it was that everyone here seemed to very genuinely wish him a long and happy reign.

Maybe it was that for the first time since he was ten, Ben really, genuinely felt like he was controlling the Force, instead of the Force controlling him. It was an incredible feeling, and he was starting to feel better about having to go about the business of ruling a planet. Maybe they could keep the doors open, maybe he had never had anything to be afraid of.

Rey swept over when he was in the middle of laughing at one of Phasma’s stories, and rested a hand on his arm.

“Ben, can I have a moment?  _ Alone?” _ She asked. He blinked, glanced over, and shrugged.

“Give me a moment with my sister,” he said, and stepped away, letting her lead him to a slightly more private hallway off the ballroom.

“Ben,” she hissed as soon as they were out of sight, “what are you  _ doing?” _

“Making friends?” He raised an eyebrow, looking rather unimpressed. “The same thing you’re doing with Commander Dameron, I presume.”

“It’s  _ not  _ the same!” Rey snapped. “Half the galaxy has seen you doing the tango with the First Order’s General, it’s all over the holonet, and these are the people that Mom abdicated to  _ fight!” _ Ben was taken aback by her fury, but then, Rey had never been one to hold back. “ _ What  _ do you think you’re  _ doing?  _ Why is he so special?”

That was when it clicked.

“You’re jealous,” Ben said. “You --”

“Of  _ course  _ I’m jealous!” Rey cut him off. “I’m your  _ sister,  _ and you haven’t spoken to me for longer than two minutes in a  _ decade,  _ and I’ve had to live all shut up in this castle because of  _ you,  _ even though I don’t even know what’s so  _ wrong  _ with you! And then this pretty ginger in a fancy uniform sweeps in and suddenly you’re falling all over yourself to get to talk to  _ him,  _ but being jealous doesn’t make me  _ wrong!”  _ She crossed her arms. “He wants something from you, Ben, and even though you’ve been a prick for half our lives I still remember when you were a decent human being and were actually  _ nice  _ to me, and I remember that you’re my brother, and I care about you.” 

“You’re wrong,” Ben said firmly. “Well not - I mean, yeah, of course Hux wants something from me, he wants support for  _ trade agreements  _ with the Republic so his people don’t  _ starve,  _ he’s not...it’s politics! He’s not looking to  _ kidnap  _ me, or whatever you’re imagining,” he said. Surely he would know if Hux had a darker motive.

“Ben, please,” Rey said, “I have a terrible feeling, there’s something wrong here, and I think you’re a little blinded to it.” Ben grit his teeth.

“As you reminded me, we haven’t spoken in a decade. You don’t know me well at all, Rey, biological connection aside. I’m  _ not  _ blinded to anything.” Ben spun on his heel, closing off again, feeling bitter about the entire thing. Sure, he could do just fine with strangers, but with his own  _ sister?  _ A failure, as always. He started to walk back to the party, even though that was the last place he wanted to be now.

“Ben, wait,” Rey said, following him, and they made it back to the dance floor before she caught up because of his longer strides. She grabbed his shoulder and he whirled, feeling fury bubble up in him.

“Leave me  _ alone,  _ Rey,” he snapped.

“No!” Rey said. “I’ve done that, for ten years, and it’s done nothing! Why are you shutting me out, Ben? Why did you shut the  _ world  _ out?” People were paying attention now, staring at the King and the Princes as they fought, and Ben began to almost automatically retreat to the exit to the ballroom, which would take him into the gardens and hopefully away.

“You couldn’t possibly understand, Rey,” he said, shaking his head firmly. “You can’t even  _ imagine,” _ which was true, and that was  _ his fault,  _ her memories had been taken because of  _ him,  _ and so had her powers, and --

It was all his fault. It was always his fault.

“Than help me understand!” She ran forward again, and he shook his head -- 

And the Force got away from him, again, just like it had ten years before, and he flung out without thinking, just wanting to keep her  _ back, away. _

It happened again.

Rey’s own Force connection bloomed, Ben felt it, and there was a small explosion, sending them in opposite directions. Dameron swept in to catch Rey and help her up, and Hux tried to help him up, but Ben pushed him away. Hux's hand wrapped around his upper arm, and was staring, in a way that made Ben want to shrink into himself.

“Ben, your eyes,” Hux said, very quietly.

Ben turned to look into one of the mirrors set up as decoration, and made a strangled noise of horror.

His eyes weren’t their normal brown - there was an amber-gold around the edges, encroaching further than he had ever seen before. As soon as he noticed it, it was gone, but it told him enough. It told him he was getting worse, falling farther and faster.

“I have to go,” he tugged his arm out of Hux’s grip, and then threw the doors open without touching them, fleeing into the garden.

He could hear Rey trying to catch up with him, and he stopped, whirling back to face her.

“Ben!” Rey yelled, eyes wide. “Ben, stop, please!” 

“Just leave me alone, Rey! Let me go!” He snapped. In the distance, he could feel a storm building - one of the summer rains that blew up on Alderaan. He reached for it, trying to feed all the roiling emotions in him into  _ it,  _ so that maybe it would be a bad storm somewhere but his powers wouldn’t escape some other way. He could feel the air around him getting colder, and had a moment of horror, but he couldn’t  _ stop  _ it, not now.

“Ben, what  _ was  _ that?” Rey asked, desperately.

“The Force,” Ben admitted, finally, and it felt good to say it. “When I left, for six years, it was because I was training as a Jedi, but I can’t control it, I hurt you then and now I’ve hurt you again, and I’ll hurt  _ more  _ people, just let me  _ go!”  _

“Ben, please,” Rey started walking forward, and he lashed out again, pushing her back with the Force.

“Stay away from me!” It came out cracked, desperate, broken - and Ben turned and fled again, heading as fast as he could for the spaceport, dodging people along the way.

He found one of the Royal ships, folded himself into it, and took off as quickly as he could.

Behind him, the storm he had fed all his conflicted feelings into hit Aldera.

In the middle of Alderaanian summer, it began to snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if it's possible to make a massive blizzard with the Force, but uh, it is now, and Ben/Kylo is supposed to be really powerful, right? (I was also considering earthquakes but those would do _a lot_ more damage.)


End file.
